Running Rogue
by Bee.Eh.Vee
Summary: Deeks is sent to Hawaii on a case for NCIS, but what once appeared straight-forward turns into something much bigger and both teams are drawn into the intrigue.
1. Hey You

_**Running Rogue**_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own either of these shows.  
**A/N I:** It's time for these two groups to have another case! For those of you who got here from Fluffy Hair and Nosy Bosses, welcome. This one isn't going to lean so heavy on the comedy side. However, it wouldn't be a story written by me if there wasn't a little slapstick here and there. For those of you who haven't heard of/read the Fluffy Hair and Nosy Bosses story, welcome; there may be slight references to it. Here's what you'll need to know in a nutshell: Danny and Deeks have been carrying on a long-distance friendship where they complain about their teams, share stories, and try to help the other to fix their problems/harass their annoying teammates.  
**A/N II:** Bonus fun for anyone who's interested: The titles of all the chapters have something in common. I'd like to get the first person who figures it out to pick something/decide a plot point later in the story (only rule, the winner has to have a FF account so that we can PM about it).

Now that all of that is out of the way, enjoy.

* * *

**Hey You**

Steve wandered through the darkened halls of their office towards Danny's office. He had promised Grace he would drop her present off on his desk for her. He was sure Danny would know, but to Grace it was a clandestine mission that was top secret and he was happy to play along. Somehow the kid had wormed her way into everyone's hearts and they were happy to indulge her.

He pushed the door open with his fist and soft-walked over to the desk. He placed the package in the centre of the cleared space. He nudged it to line it up straight. A smile ghosted across his face and he turned to leave. And stopped dead.

There was something on the couch. His hand moved over to his holster and he quietly unclipped the snap. He slid to the side so the early dawn light gave him a better view.

It moved and made a sound. It sounded something like a snore? He pulled the gun out and two-handed it as he moved around to the one end. With the gun firmly held in his right hand, he grabbed the edge of the blanket and whipped it back in one fluid motion.

Feet.

Not helpful.

He flipped it back on and circled around to the other end of the couch. He repeated his actions and found a head. A blonde one. The face, unfortunately, was buried deep into the cushions. Gun still clutched in his hand, he kept that steady and poked at the shoulder with his other hand. Nothing. He shook it. Nada. He stood up straight and his face creased in confusion. He paced around, looking around the couch for a bottle, a note, or anything that would give him an indication as to who this was.

An hour later he had turned Danny's office upside down. He'd started quietly, but once he noticed that nothing seemed to change the person's breathing pattern, he'd gone to town and tore the place apart. It took him another hour to search through the office to see if there were any clues out there.

So, in summary, two hours of work and nothing to show for it.

He finally ended up standing in front of the couch, feet planted firmly on the floor with his arms crossed and a stern look furrowing his brow. That is how Danny found him when he came into work.

"What are you doing?"

"There's a guy sleeping on your couch." He nodded his head in the general direction.

"I can see that. Why are you standing here glaring at him?"

"He won't wake up."

"Did you think to check if he was dead?"

"Based on the snoring, I'd say he's still alive."

"Why don't we wake it up?"

"How?"

Danny smirked at Steve and sauntered out towards the supply closet. He came back with a canister which he held up and pushed down on the top.

A screaming horn blasted through the air, bouncing off the walls and reverberating back. Danny and Steve watched as the figure on the couch jack-knifed and rolled off onto the floor. It landed in a heap under the blanket.

"Air horn; it's how my mom used to get us out of bed when we were teenagers." Steve nodded sagely in agreement. They kept watching as the person fought with the blanket, finally ripping it off and exposing his head.

"Deeks?"

Steve turned to Danny, "You know him?"

"He's LAPD." He faced the man in question, who was presently untangling his body from the blanket and struggling to stand up. "What are you doing here?"

"Sleeping. Chin let me in."

Danny rolled his eyes. Getting answers from the floppy-haired beach bum was never easy. "Why are you in Hawaii?"

"Hetty sent me."

"Of course she did. What secret mission do you have to complete now?"

Deeks eyes slid over to Steve, he tipped his head up and squinted a bit. "You McGarrett?"

"Yep."

Deeks dug into his back pocket and pulled out a folded envelope and handed it to him. Steve frowned as he opened it, but it dissipated as he scanned the contents of the letter.

"I guess you got in last night."

"Yeah, it was a surprise for me, so not much time to plan."

"Come on, we'll find you some breakfast and then get to work."

Danny gaped, "Hello! Anyone want to let me in on this? He was on my couch."

Steve had that look of 'I don't understand why you're so worked up, but I'll humour you anyway' that he usually got daily. "Of course he was, I don't have a couch. Let's go."

With that they left in the hunt for food.

* * *

_A couple hours of sleep, a taxi ride, an airplane ride, another taxi ride, and quick stop at home ago_

"Mr. Deeks, my office?"

Deeks turned from his intended path, the one that would lead him out the door and towards his evening plans. "Yes, Hetty?" She nodded towards the guest chair and he obliged, dropping himself and his bag into position.

"I have an assignment for you."

"I would like to state upfront that Monty does have a habit of eating paper, so he could potentially eat my homework."

Hetty smiled, this one never failed to amuse her. "I'm happy to say that won't be possible."

Deeks cocked an eyebrow, "Oh?"

She handed over an envelope with 'Steve McGarrett' written on the front. "Your assignment's in Hawaii."

* * *

_Present_

Deeks squinted into the sunshine and tracked a surfer coming in on a decent-sized wave. He stabbed his fork onto his paper plate and tried to not think about the fact that he was eating shrimp for breakfast. Danny and Steve were arguing over something that Deeks hadn't been able to follow. It was starting to remind him of Sam and Callen's back-and-forths, only at a louder volume and with more hand swinging.

He hadn't gotten enough sleep to deal with this.

He ducked again to avoid Danny's hand and slid to the side to avoid the elbow from Steve. Kamekona came up beside him. He craned his neck to look up at him and asked "are they always like this?"

"Yep."

"Even this early in the morning?"

"Usually they start earlier." He placed a steaming cup in front of Deeks. "I like to have a cup of coffee first, helps me to deal with all the words that roll around."

Deeks nodded his thanks and took a sip. It was good coffee, certainly better than any precinct brew. He was almost done the cup when something felt off. He looked up to find two sets of eyes staring at him. "What?"

Danny propped his elbows on the table, "Why are you here; SuperSEAL over there won't tell me."

"The envelope was addressed to me."

"Don't take that tone with me."

Steve stuck out his tongue.

"Great, you're imitating a two-year-old now."

Deeks had a thought flash through his mind; is this what him and Kensi sounded like? No, couldn't be. Couldn't possibly be. He sighed and then started at the beginning.

"We caught a case that has to do with smuggling ring. Someone is stealing the Navy's medical supplies in the Middle East and Asia, moving them through Hawaii to LA. We're sure that someone is on the inside here but we're not sure who it is. I got sent to do some digging."

Danny cut in, "Why you?"

A smug comment came from across the table, "I know why, it was in the letter."

"Could you please tell the infant that I am ignoring him."

"Anyway, most of the field office here are known on the base, everyone knows that Sam is a SEAL and Kensi's already poked around the base looking for info on her dad, so they were blown. Callen was here with that whole..."

"Blood feud?" Danny supplied.

"Yeah, so I'm the only one that has an unknown face. So here I am."

"How are you going to get in?"

Steve snorted, "Well, he's not going in as a marine or sailor, not with that hair."

"Ha ha. No. I'm not cutting my hair off and I'm not joining the navy. I need to know what bars the more...unsavory sailors might frequent. I'll start there."

Danny turned, "Steven, where shall the shaggy-headed detective go to get a drink?"

"Why should I know?"

"You threaten to drop people off of buildings and feed them to sharks. That is the very definition of unsavory."

He got a glare in return. "I am not unsavory." Steve paused, "but I do know a couple you could try."

"Aha! You are an unsavory character."

"You never let me finish. I've never been in them, but I've had to pick up a few buddies from outside."

Deeks grabbed the chance to re-enter the conversation. "Great, give me the names and addresses and I'll see what I can dig up."

* * *

Danny watched the search engine scroll through the criminal database looking for a match for the description of the carjackers. They had hit three times already and when the statements from all the eyewitnesses were put together, they came up with a fairly decent description. The search was three-quarters done when his phone rang.

He didn't recognize the number. "Hello?"

"Hello Mr. Williams."

Danny scrunched his nose and attempted to place the voice. When he did, it came with the picture of a short woman whom he was wary of. "Hi Hetty."

"I know you and Mr. Deeks have a rapport so I was wondering if you have had better luck staying in contact with him."

"A rapport?"

"Come now, I know you two have been texting and calling back forth."

"Uhh, I guess we have." He could hear the over-the-glasses look she was giving him over the phone. "Yes, we have a 'rapport'."

"When was the last time you talked to him?"

"The morning he got here; we went out for breakfast and Steve gave him the information he needed and we haven't seen or heard from him since."

Silence greeted his words. "This is not good. We cannot seem to make contact with him."

"You lost Deeks?!"


	2. Desperate Measures

**_Running Rogue_ **

**Disclaimer:** I don't own either of these shows.  
**A/N I:** Wow, ya'll were really vocal about the fact that Deeks is missing. I'm sorry! I turned my back for just a moment and he wandered off! I promise once I find him, I'll keep him here this time. Speaking of, thanks to jmlane1966, Sweet Lu, CanadianChick07, 3 guests, stront, tvj12, TMVH50, storyfan101, anonkp, AgentFraniJones, Craftygirl11, loveRnB, another guest, and guest m for the reviews!  
**A/N II:** Just a reminder about the chapter titles tie-in, now there's two to work with. I have two plot points/characters waiting for input.

* * *

**Desperate Measures**

"You lost Deeks?!" Callen stood in the middle of the Hawaiian task force's office with his hands planted on his hips. "How could you have lost him?"

Steve crossed his arms and spread his feet. "He's your detective, why weren't you monitoring him?"

Sam paused in his pacing to point at Danny "He's on your island."

Kono and Chin traded looks and started looking for escape routes from the shit storm that was raining down from the fan.

Kensi settled back against the table and added her opinion. "But Hetty asked you to keep an eye on him. Did you not read the letter?"

All the eyes went to here. Steve turned to her, "how do you know what was in the letter?"

Caught, she shifted a bit and shrugged. "I may have steamed it open when I stopped by to drop off my duffel bag."

Callen nodded, "Good work."

"Good work? Good work? She broke about nine postal laws..." Danny started up.

"It wasn't a mailed letter." Callen interjected.

"...and privacy laws..."

Sam hitched up a shoulder "He's got you there."

"...does nobody in this room follow proper police protocols?"

Kensi pushed herself off the table. "Clearly you don't either, otherwise Deeks would be here!"

Silence filled the room and lay heavy. Finally Chin walked to the centre from the outskirts where he had watched the exchange.

"Our first objective should be to find Deeks. The best way to do so is to work together. We," he motioned to his teammates, "know the island. And you know your partner. Agreed?" Nods came from around the room. "Okay. I think Kono, you should take Kensi, Sam and Steve, I'll go with Callen and Danny can coordinate."

"Why do I have to coordinate?"

Before Chin could answer, Steve threw in a shot, "Because you don't know Deeks or this island."

Chin cut off the retorting by answering him "Because you are the most organized of us all."

Steve and Danny smirked at each other while the rest rolled their eyes.

Kono stepped in, and asked "where do we go?"

Danny, who started the process of dragging out the white board, replied. "Callen, do you know Deeks' aliases?"

"I can get them off of Eric."

"You and Chin hit the hospitals and backyard doctors, Chin knows who I'm referring to. I'll call Max who can check the morgue." At his words Kensi's face blanched a tad. "Steve and Sam, you work your naval connections to see if he somehow ended up on base. Kono and Kensi can check out the bars that Deeks was supposed to hit."

Callen looked to Kensi, "You going to be okay?"

"Bar hopping, I love this job." But the humour in her voice was a bit forced.

He nodded and added, "Let's hope this op is still workable, try to fight the urge to come off as cops. I'm sure he's out surfing out of cell range."

Sam uncrossed his arms. "Yep, then I can yell at him about proper procedure."

"Alright, let's go find our detective so that Sam can yell at him. Go team." Callen waved everyone towards the door.

* * *

Danny was left alone as everyone else hurried off to their directed search areas. He started by separating the whiteboard into four parts and listing the names of each of the partners along the top.

"Chin, Callen...Kensi, Kono...Steve, Sam...Danny and...Deeks. Hmm...it appears we have a Team C, Team K, Team S, and once we get Deeks back, a Team D." He stared out of the window. "Where are you, buddy? Why haven't you called?"

He shook himself to stop the train of thought that would lead to nothing good. He uncapped a pen and started writing down all the places they should check. He then wrote them in the appropriate column. Whenever a place had been checked and Deeks was confirmed to not be there, he'd scratch it off the list.

He picked up the phone and called Max, telling him what the situation was and giving him the necessary details. While he waited, he pulled up the newest BOLOs from the island and worked his way back to when Deeks showed up. Max called when he was just finishing up.

He listened, thanked him, and hung up. He pulled out his phone and sent a text out to everyone that Max had confirmed that no one or no pieces had shown up in the morgue matching Deeks' description.

Deeks was not dead; that was a good sign.

He plopped down in a chair that he rolled from his office. He wasn't leaving the board until Deeks was found. He swung slowly in a circle trying to decide which was the best avenue for him to pursue. His eyes caught on a pair of pink swim goggles that were hooked on an exposed nail. A smile tugged at his mouth remembering the events that lead to them landing in this office. He wished he had a camera with him when Steve had opened the package. He had found them in the garbage twice but rescued them both times. Now they stayed on that nail as a reminder of the strange accidents they ran into on this job.

He sent Callen a text asking for the computer genius' number back in LA. Maybe if he coordinated with him Danny could get out of doing the dreaded computer searches. He never completely mastered working the more complex programs on their servers. If Deeks was their guy, maybe he could do the searches for him. A reply came back almost instantly.

He dialed the number and got a 'yo' in reply.

"Hi, uh, Eric?"

"Yep, who's this and how did you get my number?"

"It's Danny from Hawaii and Callen gave it to me. Maybe next time you don't know who's calling, you shouldn't acknowledge that it's you."

A chuckle came over the line. "My spycraft training keeps getting interrupted by cases."

"That's fine because I'm not really interested in your ability to spy on people in person."

"I heard that Deeks is missing. How can I help?"

"By doing some computer-related work."

"My fingers are ready and so are Nell's."

"I need to know if he has gotten off the island. Normally I could do that myself, but I wasn't sure if he had any aliases with him that he could have used as well."

"You think he came back and we didn't notice?"

"I'm covering all the bases."

"Roger."

A voice came from the distance and made it to Danny, "Did you just say 'roger'?" Something covered the phone and a muffled conversation took place. "So what if I did?" "We work for the Navy, not the Airforce." "People from the sea say roger." "Like when?" "Jolly roger." "That doesn't count."

Danny cut in. "What about the search?"

Eric uncovered the phone and came back on the line. "Running. I'll email you the results. Send me one back if you have anything else you need done."

"Okay, do you need my address?"

A snort sounded from LA. "I'll find it."

Danny rolled his eyes and said his good-byes. He huffed; kids and their computers, think they know everything. He turned back to the board and stared at the board and wondered again where Deeks was and why he hadn't checked in. He tapped a finger against the table and waited for something sort of information to come in.

How could they have lost him?

* * *

**A/N:** If you're wondering, the saga of the goggles is told in Fluffy Hair and Nosy Bosses, Chapter 2: Butt Splinters.


	3. Somebody's Out There

**_Running Rogue_**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own either of these shows.  
**A/N I:** Thanks to morethanjustanything, AgentFraniJones, jmlane1966, ncisloverinnc, Mei2, Guest, guest m, twin1, and TMVH50 for the reviews.

* * *

**Somebody's Out There**

**_Team S_**

Once Sam and Steve separated themselves from the over-eager gate-watchers of the base, they found a spot to park and started walking around unaccompanied.

"Is it just me, or are the people assigned to the guard posts getting younger and younger?" Steve pondered out loud.

"Considering that it's commonly a private or corporal duty and they tend to be new to the army, the answer to your question would be yes and no." At Steve's confused look, Sam continued. "They're the same age they always have been, but since you are getting older, proportionally, they look younger."

"Did you just call me old?"

"I said you are getting older. That's a good thing, because otherwise you'd be dead." At the last word, Sam frowned.

Steve grabbed his arm. "Hey, we're going to find him and he'll be fine." Sam nodded as they continued towards the bunks.

"Sam Hanna! Man, I have not seen you since that time in Indonesia." A voice came from their left.

He stopped and held up his hands, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

The laughter dropped off the face matching the voice, but then came back when Sam grinned. He continued, "You bum. I think you still owe me from that poker game."

"No, you lost that money fair and square." Sam held up his hands and shrugged.

"Not possible. Hey, what are you doing here with Steve?"

"Hi Greg." Steve nodded.

"You going to have another party at your place?"

"Sometime, I'm still trying to fill in all the divots you people put in my lawn during the football game."

Sam jerked his head at Greg. "Question for you, have you heard anything about a guy hanging around on the outskirts of the base or on it?"

Greg rolled with the topic change. "What's he look like?"

Sam pulled a picture up on his phone and handed it over. It was the driver's license picture Eric used for backstopping. Greg frowned and shook his head, but he offered to take it to the other SEALs to see if anything popped. He motioned for them to follow and they accepted. Once at the pool he motioned at the instructor to call a break. Everyone hauled themselves out and formed a loose group around the visitors. Greg let the calls to Sam go for a few minutes and then cut them off. "Sam and Steve are looking for a guy, I'm passing around Sam's phone, so don't drop it in the pool. Anyone recognize him?" A series of negative responses followed the phone around the group, but Steve's eyes tightened at one of them.

Greg shrugged and handed the phone back. Sam accepted it and followed Steve out. Steve stopped around the corner and leaned against the wall where he had a clear sightline of the exit. Sam came in beside him and raised his eyebrows in a question as to what they were doing.

"Dave flinched at the picture. He's seen him, I think we should ask him where."

They stood at parade rest for the next hour waiting for the training to wrap up. Finally Dave came out, scanned the area and spotted them. His shoulder's dropped and he headed in their direction.

"Where'd you see him, Dave?" Steve's voice gave him no opportunity to dodge the question.

"Chrystal's…two nights ago."

"What are you doing at a place like that?"

"It's Angie, she threw me out."

"So you go to that dive of a bar?"

His shoulders lifted in a halfhearted protest. "I don't know."

"You and her have survived this long. Fix it and don't try to drown your problems."

"I know." He sighed. "I should go home and talk to her."

"Yes, you should." Steve slapped his shoulder and Dave gave them a small smile. He turned to walk away and Sam pulled out his phone.

"Hey Danny, Deeks was spotted at Chrystal's two nights ago. Can you pass that onto Kens and Kono? Thanks." He ended the call and turned to Steve, "Where now?"

"Let's flash his picture at the security detail, call him a person of interest and see what comes out of it."

* * *

**_Team C_**

Callen waited patiently by the car as Chin talked on his phone. They'd hit a number of doctors who didn't necessarily work with the general public. So far everyone hadn't seen their detective. He blew a breath out of his mouth, he'd really like to find him so that after Sam was done yelling at him, he could take a turn.

"Yep…no?...okay, we'll see what we can dig up" Chin snapped his phone shut and walked back to Callen. "That was Danny. Sam and Steve found someone who saw Deeks two nights ago, but they struck out at the security office of the base." He started walking towards the building but noticed that Callen was no longer beside him and turned to find him staring up. "You do have blue skies in LA, don't you?"

Callen's mouth pinched as he pointed at the sign, "Why did we pass two hospitals to come to this one?"

"This one's special."

"Why?"

Chin smiled, "Follow me and you'll find out."

Callen squinted at the native Hawaiian, weighing his curiosity against his habit of not trusting anyone outside his team. In the end his need to find Deeks and his curiosity won out. He shrugged and caught up to Chin. They travelled down some hallways, it was clear Chin knew where he was headed. He confidently weaved his way through people and equipment, so when he came to a dead stop against a wall Callen had to catch himself from hitting him. Callen leaned against the same wall, confused about why they had stopped to lean against this particular wall when they had a detective to find. He opened his mouth to voice this opinion to Chin when he pushed himself off the wall and stepped beside a woman in scrubs. She jumped a bit when he appeared beside her, but recovered quickly and threw an arm around his waist.

"Callen, this is Aulani; she is the reason we drove past two hospitals to this one." Chin pulled her into a hug, "She also happens to be my cousin. That tends to make her more cooperative during investigations then most of the nurses that run the admissions desks."

Callen put his hand out, "Nice to meet you." She shook the offered hand and nodded her head in the direction they should go.

Safely inside the hospital administration offices, she led them to a grandmotherly-type lady sitting behind a computer. "Margaret, these men need some help."

Margaret turned from her screen and switched her glasses. "What seems to be your problem?"

Chin showed her his badge, "We're looking for a missing man."

Margaret peered over her glasses at him, "There are procedures for that."

Both the agent and detective stiffened and exchanged glances. Aulani sensed her cousin tense and laid a hand on his arm. "I'm sure they have a good reason for skipping them, right?"

"He's a friend of ours, and we're fairly sure he's in trouble."

Margaret sighed. "Give me a description."

Callen stepped forward, "He's 6'2", has blond hair, blue eyes, weight depends on how many of Kensi's Twinkies he's eaten. He's got a scar on his right thigh and one on his chest."

Chin noticed the tightening of Callen's eyes at the last part, but he decided it was a question for another time. "He's only been here for less than a week. That should narrow the window."

"I have to say, I didn't enjoy learning how to use these machines, but now that we're connected to other hospitals, I'll be show you all the results for the whole state."

They spent the next hour on the computer Margaret set up for them, but nothing matched Deeks. They simultaneously sighed in relief because they knew where he wasn't, but then tensed up again because they still didn't know was.

Callen rubbed a hand across his head, "I guess we keep looking at the backyard doctors."

Chin nodded. "I'll tell Danny."

* * *

**_Team K_**

Kono parked her car down the road from the fourth bar on their list. A past adventure with a single-entrance parking lot and a suspect motivated by significant jail time had caused her to have to replace her bumper. She liked the one she had and preferred to keep it. The tone signalling a text came from her phone. She picked it up and read it. She speed-dialed Danny and put him on speaker.

"What's up brah? You're on speaker."

Danny's voice filtered through, "Chin just called, he's not at any of the hospitals or half of our list of alternative medical care."

"So he's probably healthy or dead in a ditch." Kensi huffed. "There's no reason for him not to call."

Kono squinted at her temporary partner, but decided not to comment. "We're parked outside of Salty's and we're on our way in."

"Did you go to Chrystal's?" They could hear Danny uncap his marker.

"Yep, as well as The Ranch, Club 24, and the VI. They recognized his picture at all of them, but they haven't seen him in a while." Kono summarized the findings of the last few hours, choosing the gloss over the many wonderful people who drink at bars in the middle of the day.

"Keep me posted."

Kono ended the call and unclipped her seatbelt. "Ready for another?"

Kensi sighed. "I just don't understand why. Why hasn't he called? Where is he? Why did Hetty send him out here by himself? Okay, I understand the last one, but still, we're partners."

Not knowing Hetty, Kono couldn't give her an answer, so she went for the next best thing, optimism, "Maybe he's sitting in that bar."

Kensi quirked an eyebrow, "For his safety, I hope not."

They walked in and paused to let their eyes adjust to the darkness of the inside. The neon from the signs cast shadows that formed strange tableaus. The ambiance could be summed up as 'spooky'.

"This place gives me the willies." Kono moved to put her back to the wall.

"I agree. Let's get in and out as fast as we can." Kensi frowned as she tried to scan the people scattered throughout the small space.

Kono waved the sole bartender over and smiled and tried to butter him up. Kensi put a hand on her shoulder before she could pull out the picture. Kono leaned over and Kensi whispered to her to wrap it up and not flash Deeks' face. She carried on to give a very vague description that sounded nothing like the man they were looking for. She claimed they would wait for a bit to see if he came and they moved over to a table with two barstools and leaned against it.

Kensi pulled out her phone and dialed Callen.

"I think I just found out what Max Gentry would wear if he lived in Hawaii. It's him, Callen, we found Deeks."

* * *

**A/N:** If you're wondering, Greg and the party shows up in Fluffy Hair and Nosy Bosses, Chapter 9: Remember 1989?. I caused the scar on Deeks' leg in Brothers in Arms Chapter 12, but the other was totally the show writers' fault.


	4. Call Me Maybe

**_Running Rogue_**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own either of these shows.  
**A/N I:** Thanks to jmlane1966, twin1, AgentFraniJones, TMVH50, ToOldToShip, Sweet Lu, Guest92, Guest, and loveRnB for the reviews!  
**A/N II:** Just a reminder about the whole 'the chapter titles have something in common thing', there are four titles now: 'Hey You', 'Desperate Measures', 'Somebody's Out There', and 'Call Me Maybe'. I have faith that at least one of you'll figure it out.

* * *

**Call Me Maybe**

Deeks had spotted the two when they paused in the doorway. Lit from behind by the sunlight that streamed through the door, they looked like angels. Depending on how the next few minutes went, they would either save him or get him killed. He wasn't sure what Kensi was doing in Hawaii, but he'd find out soon enough.

"Yo man, you'll never believe this, but that chick that just walked in? Totally a surfer babe. I watched her amateur career and the shot at pro." The voice, injured from years of heavy smoking, came from a man sitting beside him. He went by 'Bugs' for a reason that had yet been explained to him.

"She still surfing?"

"Not competitively. Last I heard she went to college or something."

Deeks mulled that over. It seemed that Bugs wasn't aware Kono was a cop and he wasn't about to tell him. "I'm getting another round." He pushed himself up from their table and threaded his way through the tables and chairs, picking a path that would lead him beside Kensi. As he stepped past he slipped her phone out of her back pocket where he knew she always stored it. He knew she felt it leave her pocket because she stiffened, but she didn't so much as move an inch. He loped to the bar and signaled for another whiskey.

He quickly accessed her messages and composed a text that would be sent to his new cell's number.

_Hey Charlie its Maya : ) we should toootally get together : ) tomorrow, k? Call me!_

Kensi would punch him very hard for the airhead bimbo he made her, but it would be better this way. He slid the phone down the bar into a shadow and took the drink that was placed in front of him. He nodded at the guy, appreciating his lack of questions and sloth-like service and headed back to Bugs.

He sat back down and slouched into the chair. He pulled out his own phone, which registered a new text, and watched as Kensi and Kono made a little scene about getting ready to go. Kensi walked up to the bar and said a few words to the barkeep as she grabbed her phone. Under hooded eyes he watched as they walked out the door. Once he was certain they were clear of the building he sent a reply to his own text.

_The last time we got together your boyfriend almost put another hole in my head_

* * *

Kensi whipped her phone out as it buzzed with a text. Her forehead wrinkled in confusion. She scrolled up, trying to figure out the context. Cleary she was supposed to be Maya. She checked the time of the previous text and a light bulb clicked on; Deeks was Charlie and he was trying to tell her something. She nudged Kono.

"How would a native islander refer to the rest of the States?"

"The mainland?"

"Yeah."

"The mainland."

Kensi typed a reply and then asked Kono to check it to make sure it matched the tone Deeks had set up and the island speak.

_Brah he's toootally on the mainland now! Pllllz : )_

A reply came back when they were halfway to the precinct. Since Deeks had been found and was offering up a meet, everyone was going to regroup and play the waiting game.

_You better not be lying. Or else._

Back at the office, Kono put the texts on the screen and Kensi ran through what they knew so far with the rest.

"He's at a place called 'Salty's'. There might have been some people there with him, we couldn't really tell. He's going by the name Charlie and I think it's a cover of some kind. He didn't directly speak to either of us, but we've got those texts." She gave them a moment to read them over.

"Maya? Three smiley faces?" Sam grinned while Kensi grimaced.

Chin came to the table and tapped away at the keyboard. A map appeared beside the texts. "Here's the bar," a dot appeared on the map. "There's a hotel here," another dot appeared. "It's on the edge between Salty's neighbourhood and a middle-class one. Good place for someone to go to avoid questions, but we've had dealings with them before. They'll let us observe without letting on. Kono, do you think you were made?" at Kensi and Kono's head shakes he continued. "How do you feel about being a gum-popping bored desk clerk?"

"Bubble gum's my favourite."

Callen took over, "We'll need someone to be the boyfriend who didn't leave for the mainland." The men looked around at each other. Callen started pointing. "Steve, I don't think you know him well enough."

"I agree."

"Chin, I think we need to keep you in reserve. So that leaves me, Sam, and Danny."

"Danny can certainly be irrational." Steve grinned and jumped out of the way of Danny's retort with his fist. "See? He's already taking shots at me."

Sam broke in. "What do want the boyfriend to do?"

"I think we should get enough of a fuss thrown to get him arrested and then we can debrief him here."

Kensi waved a hand. "I don't think we should pull him in. Like I said, I think he's working some sort of cover and I don't think we should compromise that."

Callen's eyes tightened. "What does he look like? You mentioned Gentry."

Her eyes cut to Kono who gave a bit of a shrug, they'd discussed this on the way back. "He's just wearing jeans and a T-shirt, but there's something else. He's got this air around him like he just doesn't care and could explode at any moment which is why it reminds me of Gentry. We have to help him out of whatever trouble he's in.

"Why do you assume he's in trouble?" Steve asked.

"He's not dead." Kensi, Sam, and Callen answered in unison. Callen added, "and he hasn't checked in. The last time he went dark alone and didn't let us know what was going on, he was almost killed in an explosion, patched up by a vet, almost got killed by a smuggler, and then became a permanent member of the team."

Sam threw in "It's easier for us to keep an eye on him this way."

Kensi nodded, "Saves Hetty time."

"Text him about this and we'll play it by ear." Danny made the decision.

* * *

_Meet me at the Albion 9, kay? : )_

A quick map search yielded him an address not far from where he was. He checked the time and texted back that he'd be there. The bar was filling up, but most people avoided the table that he and Bugs presided over. The ones that joined them aided in repelling the people. Mack, who was built like the trucks that shared his name, and Hank along with Deeks and Bugs were waiting for Billy. He was reason why Deeks was sitting in a dumpy bar drinking whiskey and projecting one bad attitude. Time passed and they sat in silence and drank. Mack had procured a bottle for the table from the bartender, and it wasn't because of his sunny personality.

Deeks checked his watch and saw the hands line up at 9:00. He stood, "Let me know when Billy gets here. I've got...a prior commitment."

Bugs' forehead furrowed. "A what?"

"A girl. I'll be back." Leers formed around the table, Deeks felt like throwing up, but he just let a leer of his own slide across his face. He turned on his heel and disappeared into the smoky haze. He loped down the road, picking up speed once he was around the corner and into the shadows.

He scanned the windows of the motel and spotted a window that had a scarf looped around the curtain rod in a way that formed an 'M'. He reached the door and knocked out a pattern. The door opened and he slipped inside. He sat down on the bed and dropped his head in his hands. A deep sigh came out of him and he made no attempt to stifle it. "This is a mess."

Kensi turned on the TV and turned it up enough to muffle their voices and turned on a mic that would project their conversation into the van parked down the road. "How so?"

"I got made, but not as a cop, as Charlie Procter." His head came back up.

"Do you want me to ask questions, or are you going to just tell me?" Kensi crossed her arms, hoping that this wouldn't be a difficult conversation.

"Here's the short version: Charlie was an alias from back when I worked vice. I used him to get into a drug ring that worked out of the Bay area. The local boss was William Walsh. Turned out the ring was a part of the Irish mob from New York. We broke up the local ring and passed on the information onto the FBI. William, better known as Billy, managed to slip the noose, and moved back to New York. But now the mob's got a new thing going here and he was sent to oversee it."

"Oh no."

"Yep. He's right in the middle of this Navy thing. I came out here to find the smuggler and I found a drug operation. Turns out they're stealing the supplies and shipping them to LA where they get repurposed as street drugs. It explains why we could never find a sale, we were looking for the wrong products." He sighed again, he had the information they needed, but now he couldn't get out.

"How did we not see the connection?" Kensi scrunched up her nose and ran the case through her head, desperately searching for the link.

"They're stealing more than just the necessary ingredients and getting rid of the extras along the way. The middle men are selling them to line their own pockets or they get offered as bribes."

"What do they want with you?" She switched gears.

"Charlie had a certain skill set, one that would be used to convince people to do things that normally they didn't want to." Deeks waffled on the job description.

"An enforcer?"

"Kind of, there was blackmail, bribes, the occasion mugging of loved ones, whispered threats passed along on the wind. I'd say part enforcer, part conman."

"You have what we need, why can't you just leave? Or call us?"

He ran his hand through his hair and scratched at the bread that he'd let grow. "Last time there was a big blowout that led up to the arrests. I kind of got lost in the shuffle. They think I served time up in Seattle, where I was supposedly caught, and then have been working my way back down to Cali. Washington was a good state to use because they don't have business up there but that means they don't have connections to double-check that I was actually up there. I've been making this up as I go and keeping it all straight has been a pain. Then, I couldn't risk a call, even though Eric and Nell would be a real big help because Billy's paranoid at the best of times and he's good at spotting a plant. Plus, I've barely been alone and when I am all I can do is sleep." He sighed. "I still don't have all the information we need." He stared down at his hands as he picked at his fingernails. "I never liked the 'enforcing'" he hooked his fingers in the air "part of this cover."

Kensi shifted from foot to foot, she forced a laugh and said "I can't see you being any good at it, I mean, look at you." She waved at him half-heartedly.

Deeks stared off into the distance, his head tipped downward. The edges of his mouth twitched down. "You think so?" His voice was quiet.

She grabbed a pillow off the bed and dropped it on top of the mic. She sat on the edge of the bed beside him. She bumped him with her shoulder and sat close enough that their arms rubbed. "I believe you can talk people into doing things. You do it all the time. I know that you will always do your best to keep innocent people safe. You would never hurt someone that didn't deserve it." She paused. "So go back and beat the crap out of the terrible people."

Deeks slowly nodded his head. "I have to be mean."

"They're stealing the medical supplies from the Navy; some of it goes towards the sailors, marines, and SEALS, but some are also handed out to refugees and locals."

"That'll work as inspiration."

Kensi dug into her pocket. "Here, Hetty had this sent over, don't ask how it got here so fast. It's a watch, but it'll track you and has a built in recorder for us. If you need to turn them off, hold this button down for a few seconds, to turn back on, repeat. And here's an earwig."

Deeks smiled for the first time. "Thanks. We're going to get these guys, aren't we."

"Between me, you, Callen, Sam, Danny, Steve, Kono, and Chin, they don't stand a chance."

"They're all helping?"

"Let's just say that your back-up has back-up."


	5. Fly By Night

**_Running Rogue_**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own either of these shows.  
**A/N I:** It was Thanksgiving yesterday and I'm thankful for the reviewers from last chapter (TMVH50, AgentFraniJones, loveRnB, Guest, jmlane1966, and anonkp) and all the readers. And for stuffing.  
**A/N II:** So there's been a couple guesses on the titles that they are songs (which is correct). I'll give you a hint: a track listing has two parts, the title and the artist, I'm using the title leaving the artist for you… Hopefully that's not a terrible clue and it actually helps.

* * *

**Fly By Night**

Deeks weaved his way through the tables and sat down in his original seat. The meeting with Kensi and the knowledge that they knew where he was settled his nerves. She'd passed on some more useful information and he had a plan now. He tensed up again when he saw that Billy had arrived and was already pouring another drink.

"There's our boy. Have a nice time?"

He knew he had to sell it so he gave a good wolf smile as he dropped into his chair. "Enough that I'll say yes the next time she calls."

"I hope you'll have the chance."

Deeks chose to read the implication another way than it was probably meant, "How busy you going to be working us?"

Billy crossed his arms "You want to explain to me why two people came snooping around for you on the base this morning?"

"Big black guy and another one who might as well have 'SEAL' tattooed on his forehead?"

He cocked an eyebrow, "Yeah, how do you know them?"

"Past customers, but now that they're old they're trying to bust me to add a gold star to their resume." He heard muffled laughter over the earwig. His mouth twitched at what he was sure Sam's face looked like.

"They going to be a problem?"

"They have been on and off, but neither is smart enough to bring me in and they're even worse when they're together. They're like squirrels with shiny objects. I'm sure they'll move on in a day." He would pay for that one.

Billy mulled this over, and then seemed to accept the reasoning. "So, you put any more thought into my offer?"

Deeks took a shallow breath.

* * *

Callen took a deep breath. "Okay, this is what we've been waiting for." He shifted slightly to get more comfortable in his perch in the van. He gave a side look to Danny who was rubbing his knee in the chair next to him. Danny was dressed up in jeans, a T-shirt, and a lightweight canvas jacket. He'd mussed up his signature 'do and had heavy workboots on his feet. A wallet full of fake ID was jammed into his back pocket and a burner phone was tucked away as well. He was Deeks' exit plan; if Callen decided they needed to pull him, Danny was going in as the jealous boyfriend. "You ready, just in case?" Callen directed his question to Danny and away from the mic.

Danny nodded. "I did some undercover back in Jersey. It's just, we'd normally figure it all out _before_ we got sent in."

"Let's hope he doesn't need a plan B."

"One question, what's with all the outside talent?" They heard Deeks through the speakers. He was avoiding for the question for a reason Callen didn't know. "Bugs, here, says he came in from Texas and Mack just screams New York Irish. Where are your locals? Then there's Hank who is not from the islands based on his lack of tan."

Billy made a garbled sound. "No locals, no one for the cops to pick up on. We make a point to avoid them and they don't know we exist."

There was a pause. "But you do have eyes on ones that could be trouble…right?"

Callen leaned forward. "Where are you going with this, Deeks?"

"Nah, the way we set up, they'll never even know we were here. They only found out about us in California thanks to that rat Callaghan, remember?" Billy laughed, which sounded more like a truck holding the brakes going down a hill. "Good thing you took care of him."

"He got what he deserved." There was an edge to Deeks' voice that Callen had only heard once before, and it was right before he almost shot and then punched a fellow officer. "You should know, I'm not running solo as much lately. Got myself a partner."

"Why would you do that?" The voice they had determined to be Bugs came over the comms.

"He's a buddy, he's good, and he owes me."

Callen shared a look with Danny. "I don't know where he's going with this. Keep listening." At Danny's nod, Callen dialed Eric back in LA. "Hi, thanks for sticking around for this, you didn't have to." He paused for a moment. "Yes, we will bring your surfing buddy back. I need you to see if you have a backstop for an enforcer type. Deeks is pulling in a partner…Yes, I know the backstop for Charlie was sad, but we need something similar and can you also bring Charlie up to your standards?" He waited while Eric talked. "I'm glad to hear it, good initiative. I'll put you on speaker so you can hear what details Deeks can give us." He set his phone down.

Billy had been thinking about it. "Why should I trust him?"

Callen could almost hear Deeks' shrug. "Because I do."

Silence filled the van, and they could only imagine what kind of mutual stare-down was going on.

"I'll call him." They could hear Deeks fiddling with his phone. Callen readied himself to answer the call when the phone in Danny's pocket started to ring. They shared a look and Danny pulled out his phone.

"Yeah?" Danny bit the word off.

"Got some work for us. I'm at Salty's. Find your way here."

"You sure about this?" Danny asked quietly into the phone, hoping no one at the table would overhear his question.

"Yeah, Salty's. I told you where it was yesterday. Be here in 10." Deeks voice rang with finality and he ended the call abruptly.

Eric's voice came over Callen's phone, jolting the shocked Callen and Danny into motion. "I have the framework of one set up, just need to know the personal details – height, weight, hair colour, et cetera – and what name to put on it."

Callen leaned closer to the phone as his steady gaze stayed on Danny's face. "Use Donnie, make up a last name. Pull up Detective Danny Williams' file for the details." He leaned away from the phone and spoke to Danny. "Stay quiet for the beginning and take your cues from Deeks, he's done this cover before. Here's an ear piece…" Callen pulled one out of his pocket. "It's my spare. Hetty makes me take extras since mine tend to get destroyed."

Eric came back and recited some details which Danny put into the burner phone. "There you go…important names, birthdays, and remember that any of those numbers automatically route back to us. Most of them go to voicemail so don't worry if some bad guy gets a hold of your phone."

Callen got a smile on his face. "Hetty brought in a voice actor to record all of them after Eric's all sounded too much the same. I like calling Jim, he sounds like Sean Connery's James Bond."

Danny checked the time on the computer. "I better go."

Before he opened the door, Callen wanted to tell him one more thing. "Hey, he's bringing you in for a reason; he's trusting his instincts so trust yours and everyone should get out okay."

Danny quirked a corner of his mouth up into a part grin and then pushed his way out of the van.

* * *

The bar was hazy with smoke from years' worth of cigarettes. The light from the neon bounced off of it, making it difficult to see faces properly. Danny shrugged his jacket higher on his neck, trying to find where it sat the most comfortably. It was so loud in the room he was surprised anyone could hear anything. He wondered how Deeks could have heard anything through his earwig. When he approached the table and made eye contact with Deeks, a helpless look flitted through his eyes and Danny got the feeling that he, in fact, hadn't heard much.

"Guys, this is Vinnie." Deeks announced.

Danny smacked him in the head as he walked past to grab a chair from another table, a chair that was quickly deemed available after Danny practiced a snarl on them. "It's Donnie." He spat out as he plunked the chair down at the table. "Quit it with the Jersey Shore crap." He sneered at Deeks who just cackled.

"You a cop?" Mack looked Danny dead in the eyes while a dangerous fire burned in his.

Danny squeezed his knee to control the jump in heart rate the question caused. "The only way I'd be driving a cop car is if I stole it" he smirked. "At least that's what the police report says I did."

"That was before I met you, where was that?" Deeks laughed at his partner.

"Canada. Long story."

The matter appeared to be closed as Billy finally spoke. "We need you to kidnap some kids, there's a person who needs some…persuasion."

Danny forced himself to breath and keep his emotions out of his face, but he still jumped when Deeks slammed his hand against the table.

"We're back to this again?" He growled.

Billy shrugged.

"I thought we got past this after the Andersons."

Billy contemplated his glass. After a moment he pushed himself higher in the chair and nodded. "You're right. Bugs'll take you around tomorrow so you can get a look at the guy." He shook his head. "I still can't believe how you find people's weak spots…I would-a just snatched the kid."

Deeks shook his head. "Kidnapping just turns parents into emotional wrecks or they don't care. Blackmail works if you find the pressure point where you can still control them."

Bugs squinted. "But how do you find the right one? I never could." He shrugged. "In another life you could have been a detective."

A raspy laugh came from Deeks' throat. "Yeah? In that life I'd be making peanuts all in the name of 'the greater good'." He hooked his fingers in the air and rolled his eyes. "Could you see me wearing police blues and following some captain's orders?"

The table erupted in laughter and Danny joined in. He caught Deeks' eye and he realized what a fine line Deeks walked in this cover and it gave him a bad feeling.

Things could get ugly before this case was done.


	6. Raise a Little Hell

**_Running Rogue_**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own either of these shows.  
**A/N:** Thanks to storyfan101, loveRnB, TMVH50, anonkp, Sweet Lu, tvj12, Guest, and guest m for the reviews!

* * *

**Raise a Little Hell**

'Charlie' and 'Donnie' had drunk the night away, or so it seemed. Almost empty glasses had a way of ending up in front of them and Danny knew it had something to do with the way Deeks would pour glasses and rearrange the pitchers and bottles. Danny did his part by sometimes dangling his glass from the tips of his fingers as his arm was slung over the back of his chair. Some of the liquid might have sloshed onto the floor 'accidentally'. When the bar closed up Billy went off in one direction with Mack and Hank following stoically behind. Bugs stumbled off towards his room which was conveniently located on the next street. A taxi slowed down beside Deeks so he hopped in and Danny slid in beside him.

"Aloha, boys. Where to?"

Deeks smacked Danny in the arm as he was opening his mouth. "Parkview Motel." He smacked Danny again when he tried to speak. Danny rubbed his arm but kept his mouth shut. Deeks kept an eye on the people on the sidewalk and waited until the crowd thinned before he spoke again. "Hi Chin."

"What was that for?" Danny winced at the amount of whine that snuck into his tone.

Deeks' eyes stayed on the outside of the car. "Billy has a habit of keeping an eye on his people. I wanted to make sure no one was paying more than normal attention to us."

"Whatever you say, shaggy." Danny groused.

After a beat Deeks pulled his eyes back to Danny. "Wouldn't that make you Scooby, seeing as we're kind of partners on this thing?"

Chin noticed the purple creeping up Danny's neck and broke in. "Callen wanted me to ask what your plan is, Deeks, and he stressed that I get an answer."

Deeks leaned back in his seat and ticked the points off on his fingers. "One, figure out what's going on while, two, trying to not die."

Chin blinked a few times before asking, "That's your whole plan?"

Deeks shrugged. "It worked last time." He leaned forward. "Seriously, though, if this is going to work, you guys are going to have to keep your distance. It's great to have back-up, but you have to stay out of the picture. If Billy catches a whiff of cop we're dead."

"What about the comms?" Danny asked as he tapped his ear, still not completely comfortable with the way the thing was sitting in his ear.

Deeks  
struggled, "We keep them for now. If we have to dump them I'll try to let you know somehow."

The car eased to a stop in front of the motel. Chin leaned back as though he was reaching for his payment. "Stay safe and good luck. Kensi'll be by later to drop off some more clothes for Danny. She'll be at the bathroom window in half an hour." He got two heartfelt nods as they slid out of the car.

Danny kept an eye on Chin's taxi as he eased out of the parking lot. Deeks dug the room key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. He stood to the side as he pushed open the door, his eyes searching for any traps or wires before jerking his head at Danny to follow him in. The door closed with a click and Deeks wasted no time throwing the locks. He carefully walked through the room, searching for anything that had been disturbed. "Nice hair by the way."

Danny's hand went up to his head where he found his hair in its usual combed-back style, but the natural waves gave it a messier look. "Yeah, well, I dunked it under the tap and didn't put gel in it." He frowned at Deeks. "Are you always this paranoid?"

"No, it's just...there's something off with that group. I can't put my finger on it yet." He finished his search and looked at Danny's head. "Why do you always gel your hair?"

A shrug was Danny's only answer until he huffed. "Otherwise I look too much like my dad."

"Is that a bad thing?"

Danny's mouth edged up into a smirk, "He didn't appreciate it when my mug shot from a stupid prank circulated through the family when I was 15. I started gelling my hair then and never really stopped."

"The stolen cop car?" A real smile spread across Deeks' face.

"Do you have anything to eat in this craphole?"

"Okay, you can change the subject. I'll find out sooner or later." He pulled off his watch, emptied his pockets of change, dug his earpiece out of his ear and dumped the whole handful into an empty mug. "There are some snacks in the cabinet. I'm taking a shower."

* * *

Kensi nodded to Steve who had driven her to the empty lot down from the motel. She slung the bag of clothes over her shoulder and kept to the shadows. There was enough cover that allowed her to sneak up behind the motel without anyone noticing; her approach was also covered by the fact that any sane person was in bed and the rest were probably otherwise occupied. She counted the windows along the back of the building and the one she deduced to be for Deeks' room was cracked. There was enough room for her to snake her arm in and open it enough for her to get her upper half into the bathroom.

She turned her head towards the shower when the water burst on behind the curtain. "Deeks? Is that you?"

"Yep, and you're welcome to join me."

She grunted as she pitched the bag down to the floor. She thought about just leaving the window wide open with the crisp breeze flowing in, but then she realized she was leaning right over the sink…a sink with a cup resting on the edge. She smiled as she quickly filled it up with cold water. "Hmm…maybe…" She heard him stop moving under the water and she reached over to grab the edge of the curtain, thankfully it was a tiny bathroom, moved it back a bit which got his attention. Silence was only broken by the sound of the water splattering. She grinned and then flung the cold water into the shower.

Deeks shrieked.

Footsteps pounded outside the room and Danny burst through the door, gun drawn. Danny and Kensi stared at each other and she wiggled the cup in her hand. They both turned to look at the shower where Deeks could be heard taking deep breaths. Danny tucked his gun in his waistband and held out his hand to Kensi which she high-fived. She leaned back out of the window and Danny cranked it shut behind her.

She retraced her steps back to where Steve was waiting with a grin and a skip.

* * *

Danny rubbed his hair dry with a towel and stared at the result in the mirror. A quick brushing pulled it back and he realized he was the spitting image of his dad 20-odd years ago; his dad probably wouldn't appreciate it if he managed to get himself another mug shot out of this investigation. He walked out of the bathroom to find a Deeks sound asleep in his bed. He pulled back the blankets on his bed and climbed in. Exhaustion lulled him into a deep sleep quickly and it was a dreamless one. It felt like only minutes had passed when he was woken up by a smack from a pillow. He groaned and opened his eyes only to slam them shut against the light streaming in from the windows.

"Get up, we're meeting Bugs in half an hour for some recon on the guy who needs some persuading. Time to do some dirty deeds."


	7. Big Wheels

**_Running Rogue_**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own either of these shows.  
**A/N:** Thanks to storyfan101, TMVH50, Sweet Lu, jmlane1966, and guest for the reviews.

* * *

**Big Wheels**

"I think you're making that up." Eric squeezed his eyebrows together and frowned.

"I am not." Nell shook her head.

"No one named a spider after Harrison Ford."

"Did too."

Eric squinted at her. He turned his head to the side, keeping his eyes on her. "Why."

"Because of his conservation work."

"I still don't believe you."

Nell's response was cut off by an incoming phone call from Deeks. Eric punched the answer button. "Yo."

"Hey Eric, I need you to do some quick research on a guy by the name of Troy Levitt."

"Anything specific?" Eric asked as he typed.

"Something I can use to squeeze him."

There was a pause as they looked. "He's pretty clean…no outstanding loans, nothing recent with the law, no ex-wives."

"Hmm…what about his truck? That's paid off? It looks pretty new." Deeks sounded thoughtful.

Eric and Nell shared a look as they scrolled through the information. Eric spoke up, "uh, there's nothing here to indicate that he has a truck. No purchases in the last five years, nothing registered in his name, and no insurance policy."

They could hear paper rustling before Deeks came back on the line. "Can you run this plate for me?" He read it off twice.

Nell spoke up. "That's registered on a Prius."

A snort and a laugh came over the line as well as a muffled "Does that look like a Prius to you?" "No, it does not." Deeks came back on the line. "Thanks, I think I have what I need." He ended the call.

"That was easy." Eric hooked his hands behind his head and leaned back.

Nell pointed at her screen. "See, _Calponia harrisonfordi_! I told you!"

* * *

Deeks gazed out of the window of the car Bugs had given them the keys to after he had driven them to Levitt's place and smiled. "This should be easy."

Danny frowned at the truck. "What has he done to that poor vehicle?"

"By the looks of it, he raised the suspension, new running boards and door handles, and tinted the windows."

"Boys and their toys." Danny shook his head.

Deeks blew out a breath and sat perfectly still. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I have to go ruin his week." He threw a grin at Danny and then pushed himself out of the car.

* * *

Troy Levitt slammed the door behind himself slightly harder than necessary, but his girlfriend was getting on his nerves. He resigned himself to the fact that he was going to have to sit tight and take it since when his wife found out about this mistress, she had kicked him out of _his_ house. Something about being a bad influence on the kids, not that he really cared. He needed to find a place to live, but he wanted a place with garage so he could tuck his girl away every night. As his eyes landed on the truck, his day got instantly better. "Hey there beautiful" he breathed. "Miss me?" A throat being cleared behind him caught his attention and he seethed as he turned away from the truck.

"Hi Troy."

"I don't know you." Troy sneered.

The man had a deadly poker face; no emotion showed on his face. His arms hung loosely by his side, but Troy could tell that he was not relaxing. There was no movement for a moment as they stared at each other, but then the man tipped his head back slightly and dropped his jaw to the side. Troy should have been happy that he didn't blink first, but somehow he felt the control of this encounter slipping away.

"Billy's not happy with you." The voice was low and rough, but he had yet to make a threatening move.

Troy found he couldn't look directly into the cold eyes, so he flicked his over the man's shoulder only to find another similar-looking man sitting in a car down the street. Suddenly he started to feel cornered. He shoved those feelings deep and spat back "Billy needs me."

The man nodded slightly and sucked in his cheeks. "It'd be a shame if the DMV were to find out that Priuses look a lot like half-ton diesel trucks now." He tipped his head to the side. "They'd drop it in a holding lot where it'd rust, the tires would go flat, and birds would use it as a toilet."

Troy's heart stopped. Dead. He felt his face go white and he tried to figure out who this man was and how he knew what button to push. He realized that he lost any upper hand he might have had earlier. But if he was being honest with himself, he'd realize that he had never had the upper hand. "Tell Billy he won't have any more issues." He swore it was so quiet he could hear himself swallowing.

The man regarded him for a long moment and then he nodded once. "Good to know." He stuck his hands in his pocket and backed away. Troy watched as crossed the street and felt the eyes of the man in the car on him. He waited there as the man climbed into the car and drove off. When the car was out of his sight, he backed up as he felt his knees give out. He leaned against the truck as he sucked in a breath. He needed to pull himself together and get to work. There were some things he had been putting off.

* * *

Danny had threaded the car through the streets with enough precision that told Deeks he'd spent some time in this area of the islands. He did take a wrong turn at a particularly confusing corner where all out-of-towners would get lost. At least that's what Danny told Deeks while Deeks laughed at him. They made it back to their motel without further incidents and Danny cut the engine. Deeks dug around in his pockets to find the key and soon they were back into their shared room...to find it a bit more crowded than it was before.

"Steve, Callen, you climb in through the window too?" Danny asked as Deeks threw the locks behind them.

"I locked it last night. Didn't want a repeat visit." Deeks frowned, confused because he vividly remembered stepping out of the shower and inspecting the lock.

"Kono played maid and let us in." Steve explained.

"So, why are you here?" Danny waved his hand at Steve. "Can't handle not being the one running around threatening people and driving? Because you could find those carjackers we were looking for and threaten them." Steve's only response was to fold his arms against his chest.

"Chin's working on that with Kensi and Kono. _I_ would like a better answer to my question." Callen pointed at Deeks. "What's your plan?"

Deeks grinned. "Fly by the seat of my pants."

Callen scowled and turned to Danny. "What's your plan?"

Danny hooked a thumb at Deeks. "Fly by the seat of his pants."

Steve frowned "You never let me do that."

"Don't whine, it's unbecoming of an officer. And no, you are not allowed to improvise because you throw people off of roofs and make them shark bait. We're not being reckless."

"He once climbed from one window to another on the ledge of a building how many stories up?" Callen cocked an eyebrow at Deeks.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Deeks shrugged innocently.

They came to an impasse: Deeks and Danny with mouths tightly shut (and smirking) and the others frowning and frustrated. Silence fell over the group until Steve's phone buzzed. He answered it and listened. His frown took on a different quality which Danny had perfectly described to Deeks as his 'aneurysm face'.

Steve sighed and looked over at Callen. "Chin has a solid lead on the carjackers and we need to be there for the raid. Once we get that out of the way, we'll have more time to..." He let the sentence dangle as he glared at his partner. "Anyway, we have to go now."

Callen harrumphed and glowered at Deeks. "This isn't over. I want an answer by the end of tomorrow." They stalked back to the bathroom and crawled back through the window. Deeks clicked the lock into place after he closed it behind them.

* * *

**A/N:** Good news/bad news; the good news for me is that I'm taking off for two weeks for work/vacation, the bad news for you is that I'm not taking my computer. So this'll be on hiatus for a short while and I'll see ya'll when I get back.


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